Time. It always feels like we never have enough of it. We live in a world that’s full of tasks and to-dos that require our attention almost every minute of the day. From early wake-ups, rushing to work, study, meetings, phone calls, emails, appointments, grocery shopping, washing, cooking, driving, looking after kids/boyfriend/husband, social media (and it’s not just one type these days!)… and on top of that, finding a moment to actually stop the madness to do a workout and look after yourself. It all becomes a bit too much, and more often than not, our fitness and health is the first thing to be sacrificed.

“I don’t have time” is the most commonly used excuse when it comes to skipping workouts. I get it. I understand the feeling of everything piling up on top of you, rushing around in a haze, and eventually getting to the end of the day slumped on the couch in a zombie stare… prioritizing a workout can just seem impossible.

I’m here to tell you that there is time, and there is a way to de-clutter your life, refocus your direction, boost your daily motivation, and most importantly get you back on the fitness wagon and looking after you.

I’m talking about a diary. No, not the type of diary where you write letters to yourself and read them back 10 years later (although you can do that if you want to!), I mean a day-to-day planning, organization, inspiration, personal vision of you and your life on paper.

Using a diary is something I learned as a professional athlete. It was something my coach introduced to me from day one of elite training. He explained it was an essential tool to understand my training, why I performed a certain way, why I felt a certain way, and most importantly, to give me balance and purpose in my day-to-day life. Ever since I started using my diary, I noticed a dramatic change in not only my performance as an athlete but also my physical and mental productivity. The biggest thing this practice has taught me is how important it is to bring direction and focus to your time. As we become busier and busier and want to achieve more things, we need to put into perspective how we are actually going to get there. Using a diary is the way to break things down and create the daily steps you need to make every goal, dream, task, and to-do possible.

Although while there has been so many advances in technology and there are 101 apps promising to organize your time, having a physical pen-and-paper diary is the most effective tool to tune into your true self. The action of writing and reading on paper has been shown to create productive thought patterns and habits in the brain, something that you can emotionally connect with. With emotion, we are more likely to stay on track, stay inspired, and follow through on what we plan for ourselves.

Here’s how keeping a diary will get you back on track – and better than ever.

1. Buy something you’ll use

Make sure it’s the right size and the pages are functional and have everything you need. The date, time slots, space to write, monthly calendars, stickers for important notes etc. For me personally, it’s important for my diary to be travel-friendly so I can take it anywhere I go. I also like to use stickers and colored pens to not only highlight important notes but to also make my diary something I enjoy looking at and writing in every day.

2. Finish before you start

Break up your diary entries into a week block first. Choose a day where you can spend a little bit of time organizing your week ahead, mine is usually a Sunday night. Block out the essential times you are busy and that you can’t really change (work, school, appointments, school pick up, sleep, travel etc.), then structure in your workouts, yoga, meditation, meal prep or nights you want to cook (all the things essential for your wellbeing). Lastly, add any social things like dinner with the family or catch ups with friends. This is also a great time to reflect on your previous week and see where you really did well and also days or moments that you mess up and could do better this week.

Once you know what your week looks like, you can move onto your day-to-day. Before you start your day (either the night before or in the morning), know where your time is going and how long it will take you to do things. This will allow you to be proactive with your time, rather than reactive. Make sure you give each task enough time, and if it looks like you can’t get something done, move it to the next day or later in the week. Being realistic with how much we can actually do in a day and allowing periods of free time or ‘me time’ activities are the best way to reduce our stress.

3. Get inspired

Your diary is pretty much your brain on paper. As good as planning and organizing are for your productivity, you need a personal touch of inspiration to really excite you and keep you motivated to do all the things written on those pages. Things like quotes or sayings, pictures of people that you look up to, personal goals that you want to achieve in the week, or even writing down the reason you are exercising every day and eating well (I’m doing this to inspire my kids, to improve my health, to run a half marathon etc.). Seeing these things every time you open your diary really helps to keep you on track, especially on bad days.

4. Acknowledge the work you’re putting in

Self-acknowledgement is super important, even just being aware of how much we actually do in a day can help to set real expectations of ourselves. If you have done your workout, don’t be afraid to put a big tick next to it in your diary, or write a couple of notes about what you did or how you felt. Ticking off your to-do list, writing down personal goals you have achieved, or even just noticing how consistent you have been with your workouts are all things that keep our fire burning. It’s easy to just rush through a day and worry about all the things you weren’t able to finish. We can be our own worst enemy and our harshest critic when it comes to evaluating our productivity and the time and effort we put into things. I want you to start praising your daily efforts, seeing all your hard work, and acknowledging the use of your time.